Kazakhstan may take back some assets from the joint ventures it has set up in the nuclear sector, according to Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev. Nazarbayev explained that some joint venture partners of the state nuclear firm Kazatomprom “are not meeting their obligations”.

“In this regard it is necessary to either ensure that they meet their obligations or look into reclaiming those assets in the interests of our state,” Nazarbayev is quoted as saying.

Kazatomprom has joint ventures with France’s Areva, Canada’s Cameco, Japan’s Sumitomo Corp and Kansai Electric Power, several Russian firms including Rosatom, and a few Chinese companies.

Kazakhstan and Canada are working to finalise a key agreement on the peaceful use of nuclear power before the end of 2013, which would give a major boost to bilateral cooperation in an area where the two countries already hold leading positions globally, Kazakhstan’s Ambassador to Canada Konstantin Zhigalov said. In an interview with the Kursiv newspaper, the Kazakh ambassador in Ottawa explained that the agreement between the two countries has been under consideration by authorities in both countries for a long time. In particular, it provides the opportunity to fully implement an agreement signed last year between Kazatomprom and Cameco Corporation, according to which the Canadian company is serious about expanding uranium mining in Kazakhstan and the production facility for processed uranium products will be built in east Kazakhstan,” Zhigalov said.

Kazatomprom, Cameco joint venture to increase uranium production
(SRI) – Kazakhstan’s state-owned uranium miner and Canada’s top uranium producer Cameco Corp signed an agreement to increase uranium production at the Inkai LLP joint venture by a third to 5.2 million pounds from 3.9 million pounds, the Canadian company said in a statement.

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